Tag Archives: solidarity

This article from the Middle East Monitor regarding the number of people from Palestine who are in Israeli prisons should bother anyone who cares about “human rights” – that phrase so easily thrown around.

The term “Administrative Detention” is something worth questioning, among other things.

There are a number of prisoners under “administrative detention” who have gone on a prolonged hunger strike. One of them was brought to court the other day, was kicked around by the guards, humiliated. A day or so later he was charged for hurting the guards and slapped with more offenses.

“An anguished relative carried the body of Suhaib Hijazi, a 2 year old… I stood in the crowd watching, clearly a foreigner and pretty obviously an American, yet no one stopped to say to me, Why? Why… are your people supporting this atrocity? No one raised a fist in my face, or pointed an accusing finger in my direction…” – Steve Sosebee (Palestine Children’s Relief Fund), an American in Gaza, 21 November 2012

It takes time to wrap a child,the nurse tells me, not knowinghow many times I may have practicedwith something that didn’t squirmand made so much noise.

She stands waiting with me, lengths of bleached fabricin her wrinkled hands.The doctor nods, I comecloser. He holds before my eyes

the first of my twin daughtersto come out of the calmdarkness of their mother’s flesh.He counts each finger and each toe, making sure I see them intact,

not severed by accidentas he cut into my wife’s skin.I only see gray, white,and red, including this child who must be made to cry.

Her sister follows, barelylarger than my hand. It is pureluck that they are bornhere, protected by these sterile walls. Safe.